Historical Marker
Hidalgo County
Historical marker location:
Edinburg, Texas
( Courthouse Lawn, Cano & US 281 Bus., Edinburg)
Marker installed: 1936
Formed from Starr and Cameron counties.
Created January 24, 1842.
Organized April 7, 1854.
Named in Honor of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla -- 1753-1811 Mexican Patriot
County Seat, 1852, Edinburgh, name changed February 7, 1861, to Hidalgo.
Moved to present site, then called Chapin, October 12, 1908.
Name changed to Edinburg, February 3, 1911.
The first oil well in the United States was drilled in Texas in 1859. The discovery of oil transformed the economy of the state and helped to make Texas one of the wealthiest states in the nation.